Hi all! I am new to this forum, and as the title describes, have recently purchased a betta; I am not sure how old he/she is...I got him off the baby betta rack, but he is much larger than the rest of his buddies, but even still he's about an inch or so long.

Anyway, I have a 5 gallon Fluval Spec that has been cycling for the past couple days. Today we brought Copernicus home and got him accustomed to his new tank and did a couple feedings...he is NOT a picky eater! Side note, it's actually quite funny his name is Copernicus. I thought of the name because my fiancÚ is a scientist, but surprisingly the name suits him quite well! He is very inquisitive and curious...when checking the pump, I had to pull the tube out of the hole, and in the 5 seconds I wasn't looking, he managed to swim in the hole and just hung out in the bottom! Nearly scared me half to death!

Back to my original question, I'm afraid the current might be too strong for him? Earlier I had it running and while he was investigating his new home, he kept getting blown away by it (I have it on the lowest setting) so he stayed in one corner of the tank by the thermometer which, ironically, is right next to the intake portion of the filter (shouldn't that have a semi strong current too?) Upon reading other posts and threads, I came across a thread discussing my tank and to place the filter nozzle down and pointing towards the glass. I did that and Copernicus is now back to swimming around the tank, but not in the flow of the current. He doesn't seem to dislike it though, I'm just being a paranoid new mom!

He's very active, and right now his favorite activity is hanging out at the bottom, then racing to the top of the tank and then back down again. He has been doing this all day (even when i turned the filter off for a bit he still did this). I guess I'm just worried abut whether or not the current will exhaust him too much, being a small guy and all.

Here's a picture of him, and I know he's still young, but can anyone tell me what tail type/sex he might be? When he stops swimming and spreads out his tail, it looks as if he could be a half moon, maybe?

Looks like its going to be a female veil tail.
As for the filter, I'd get some filter floss or extra filter sponge and stuff it into all the extra spaces the filter has just to soften flow, or take that filter out and get an adjustable one or sponge filter for her just to make life a little easier for your new betta. link to filter baffling: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=30139
Also, you are aware that it takes about 2 months to cycle a tank? So now you are doing a fish-in cycle. You're going to need a test kit and test for ammonia daily. heres a link to the thread on cycling: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=47838

What a beautiful fish! I'm sorry to disappoint, but I think you do have a little female veiltail. Still, a gorgeous choice.

If you go ahead and baffle the filter one way or the other, you should be fine as far as current goes. Most of my bettas love to play in the filter outflow, and yours doesn't have incredibly long heavy fins, and if they start getting longer, you have time to shop for a new filter that won't toss your fish around.

Don't be afraid of the fact you've gotten stuck with the fish-in cycling method. Even though it's the least preferred cycling method, I've accidentally ended up doing it myself to a couple of fish, and they made it no worse for wear. Make sure you treated your water with a conditioner, and you could add a bacteria supplement if you'd like to kickstart your cycle. I like to use Stress Zyme by API, i like it a lot, and I know that they also make a Quick Start (which is essentially the same thing only twice as expensive). If not, you can look for just a bacteria supplement. I also have a Top Fin one that I reserve for hospital tanks with need of daily water changes, but your fish looks healthy, so you should be okay there. Just don't try to add anymore fish for 2-3 months, to give your tank time to cycle and settle in.

Again, such a beauty. The array of colors in the finnage is absolutely gorgeous. You are very lucky. :)

Thank you, Fishehgobloop! I think she is gorgeous, too! But then again, I'm biased! My filter isn't one to use the baffling technique, as it is s small nozzle that spurts out the water, but I might try either placing a foam piece around the nozzle or placing a tall plant to break up the current. Thanks for your advice!

Remembering that there are lots of different ways to successfully keep this species.

Can you get a pic with a better view of the abdomen and ventral fins...Its hard to tell but- those ventral fins look pretty long and sometimes that can indicate Male....and the body shape make me think male too....

Thanks, Oldfishlady! Appreciate your advice and links. Unfortunately, he/she is a speedy little thing so I haven't been able to get another good picture. I took up another filter mod idea and placed a bit of the filter foam in the outtake nozzle and drastically lowered the current. Copernicus seems to really enjoy his home more now, he/she even likes to go up to the nozzle to play in it!

I have a couple more new concerns. One, he always acts like he is starving. I'm feeding him 3 hikari bio gold pellets crushed up in the morning, mid day ill feed him 1-2 crushed up, and right before I go to bed (7-10) another 1-2. Is this enough? Too much? Everything I've researched said the little guys eat less, but more often. Occasionally I'll give him a bit if frozen brine shrimp instead of his mid day meal. But even after I feed him he searches around his tank looking for any other bits.

Another thing, I noticed its head is brown and I was wondering if that's due to shock of new tank/better water or if that's its coloring? All the water levels are still normal...my ph is high, though...between 7.6-8. It's not scaley or sickly looking, just brown with the brown leading up towards his top fin.

Today while messing with the filter nozzle, I placed a spoon infront of the hole because he remembered he could swim in that portion if the tank...he looked at the reflection in the spoon and started flaring! Was too cute! At first it was just the fins, but after a while the gills puffed out! I also notice a beard on the gills, so maybe she might be a he after all! Either way, I'll love Copernicus the same! Just might need to change the name... :]

I think he may be a young male as well. I got a "female" from petco but turns out he was a very young male instead.

They will always act like they are starving. Hiraki pellets are largeish, right? I would feed as you have been doing. New Life spectrum has better quality and smaller pellets but they are like $8. I feed about 6 of them since they are much smaller.

And the brown - that's probably his normal coloring. Some bettas have a brown head thing going on. The one in my signature has it.

What a gorgeous baby!! :D Mine has brown on his head too, nothing to worry about judging from your picture.

Just keep an eye on the ammonia levels :)

Also, I have found hikari pellets to not be very nutritious...in my experience, my Fred didn't do too well on them--he produced a lot of waste for what was going in. I switched him to Omega one pellets, but I head New Life Spectrum is great as well. Unlike Hikari, those two^ contain a lot of protein rather than wheat/starch. Just a suggestion ^_^

Hmmm...ok. Hikari was recommended to me, but I'd rather give Copernicus the best food possible. When introducing new food, should I gradually add it or does it not matter? Maybe do a fast and then the next day give him the new food?